Super cheap gems

[Tatulatard]

What are your surprisingly good cheap rods and reels you have found?  Rods that cost less than $60 and reels under $100.  These are the ones I'll be fishing next season.

 

I only have experience with the silver lews hank parker MH rod but it has been really good.  Its a stiff MH like the gen 1 veritas MH if anyone remembers that rod. A MH broom handle with a very stiff and slow tip.  It fishes like a heavy and is one of the few MH rods I can use for 1/2 oz jigs and frogs.  The other being that gen 1 veritas.  It has really good sensitivity too.

 

You know how you grab a cheap combo rod like a lews fire and it feels really heavy and "jiggly".  Like it's more resin then carbon cloth in construction.  Yeah, that's NOT how these lews hank parker rods feel.  They feel and fish like what I would expect from a $80-$100 rod.  I swear these walmart lews hp rods are using $89 speed stick blanks or the same material and construction.  Really slept on rods.  Go to your walmart and handle one.

 

I also have the medium hank parker rod but haven't used it yet.  It seems like a really nice medium mod fast rod with good backbone.  It balances on the decorative metal ring in front of the nut with a 5.5 oz reel.  Cork is really bad though.  I wish they would have kept the foam from the early series.  I'm going to like this one for weightless plastics and jerkbaits.  It's a slightly more powerful medium which I hope allows it to do some of the lower end of what I would use a MH rod for since the MH of the line is such a broom handle.

 

The big one with the swimbait is an sg1 speed stick.  Unfortunately this one feels exactly like one of those cheap heavy, jiggly combo rods but extra heavy powered.  The ability to throw up to 3oz with the rod for $50 is what makes the 7'4" special as a short swimbait rod for fishing big baits target casting.  This rod needs a 10 ounce reel to balance out to what I find acceptable to work a glide.  You could get away with lighter if you are just going to crank tip down.  I would avoid the rest of the line though and opt for a hank parker rod if you don't want the big rod.

 

What have you guys been using?  What's the  gem of a $50 flipping stick?

I'll add that my assessment of the lews hp medium is by comparing it to my old zodias 6'10" medium.  It feels like that rod but with a smidgen softer tip.  I'm curious to see if this is the $50 shimano 610 medium rod. 

[MN Fisher]

Rods under $60?

 

Daiwa Aird-X

 

Until I started upgrading, the Aird-X rods were the ones I used. From a M/F for jerks and wacky to a H/F for frogs and flipping - they did it all.

 

Even though I have Furys, Mojos, and Victorys in my lineup now - I still have two Aird-X rods that I'll use this coming season.

[padlin]

Under $50?  Once upon a time I used an Ugly Stick without issues. 

[T-Billy]

I have a silver 7' MH Hank Parker series. It has no orange accents, I'd guess it's older than yours. It's just as you described. Great rod for the $$$ for sure.

 For 3/8oz baits and up, I think the $99 LFS speed spool is tough to beat. For throwing lighter stuff, I like my Fuego's with shallow braid spools and 20# braid. You can get a Fuego + a shallow spool for under $150 and have two reels in one. I wish someone would make those spools for the LFS, as they're well built reels that start smooth and stay that way. 

[new2BC4bass]

Reels:  I could name at least 14 reels that cost me less than $100 that I am very fond of.  Some standouts are a Daiwa Procaster 100HN $30 new.  A steal, AFAIC.  Carbonlites $65 each used, older aluminum frame Trion $50 used, 3 used Black Max 1600C $100 for all three, and an older model Prodigy baitcast (new) $60 + shipping.

 

Rods:  Lot harder.  Berkley Lightning spinning and baitcast.  Baitcast was $17 + tax.  Spinning is over 40 years old and have no idea what it cost, but way less than $60 for sure.  BPS Crankin' Stick $40 used,

 

Now if you want to increase that $60 to $80, I could add several other rods. 

 

[TnRiver46]

I never spend more than $25 on rods or $50 on reels anymore.  I’ve tried in the past and I’m guaranteed to break anything over those prices 

[PressuredFishing]

Sgay old rods are terrible cdm rods, new ones (expecially UL, have 200$ UL-xul blank with 2 year old assembly, sloppy epoxy work, globs over guides, desalination in some areas, but for 30 retail and 23ish on sale its amazing. It's the only brand I have found that sells a dirt cheap rod in XUL power X Fast action blank that is amazing. The components are rubbish but I don't care for the blank quality. Use it a ton, bought an extra in case they are discontinued because cdm products often are, also got my father one which he loves. 

 

I don't care what anyone says presso rods are great but are noodle damp rags compared to this blank, even sensilite doesn't hold a torch

[T-Billy]

7 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I never spend more than $25 on rods or $50 on reels anymore.  I’ve tried in the past and I’m guaranteed to break anything over those prices 

[redmeansdistortion]

The JDM Daiwa Bass X rods are some of my favorites and sit in that $50 to $75 range depending on exchange rate.  I own 3 of them (6'4" L casting, 6'6" ML casting, 6'4" ML spinning) and use them for most of my bass fishing.

[TnRiver46]

3 hours ago, T-Billy said:

Bam bam is familiar with Murphy’s law.

 

luckily for us poor folk, pulling in fish ain’t that hard haha

[r83srock]

I have enjoyed my Hank Parker Lews rods. Mine are the silver/orange ones. They are light and strong, no issues with sensitivity. The guides are a bit cheap, but ok for the value of the rod. 
 

The Daiwa Aird X are the best value in the $50 price range. The 7’ mh is so versatile, and has a good build. I feel like with Fuji Alconite guides this rod would go for $150.

 

The Berkley lightning rod is pretty good also. For my uses the 7’ medium mod fast makes an excellent crankbait rod. I use mine for traps alot. I had a Curado k on it and it felt perfect. Going to mess around more with a Abu max x I picked up due to slower gear ratio. 
 

I will spend the coin on a jig/worm rod if it fits the bill, but I have no shame in using cheaper rods/reels as utility rods.

[Jar11591]

Lews SS LFS and Pflueger President XT are both solid reels for around or <$100

[ska4fun]

Lurestar C9 Air reel

Piscifun Carbon X spinning reels

All Acehawk, Lurestar, Kyorim and Kuying rods

[Eric 26]

I love my silver, black & orange Lews Hank Parker rod. I have the 6’-10” med paired with a Daiwa CA80 that I bought for $65.00, I’m ocd for color matching. I have 2 of the Lews Carbon Fire rods as well I paid $50.00 a piece for on sale, they are the original with the solid red Wynn grips. I’m not a fan of the current series even though they’re probably the same build with different colors. My favorite rod for $50.00 is without a doubt my Wright & McGill 7’-0” med powered rod I purchased from Wal Mart. I liked the rod so much I bought the 7’-2” med hvy and the 7’-2” med spinning rod. As far as cheap reels I have a Piscifun Spark which I’ve said before that will not hold adjustments and I’m not pleased with the drag. Conversely I have a Kast King royal legend 2 in 5.4:1 left hand retrieve that’s not bad for pond fishing but I wouldn’t want to chance it with bigger fish or heavy vegetation situations as the frame flexes quite a bit. I have 3 Piscifun Carbon X spinning reels that I paid $55.00 apiece for and couldn’t be happier. One more rod series although a bit pricier at $80.00 that I personally enjoy are the BPS panfish elite series rods.

[Kyle S]

All of my affordable gems seems like they've already been mentioned and praised. 

Huge HUGE fan of the Hank Parker rods at walmart.

I own 4 or 5 of them. Both in MH and M.

I also have a handful of Aird X rods, and just recently purchased two more ML Aird X spinning rods.

Though I have others, I own I think 11 Shimano SLX casting reels. 

The SLX is without a doubt my favorite casting reel I own.

Hence why I own 11 of them haha

The SLX MSRP is $99 but I wait until they're on sale and pick them up for around $80 during the Black Friday sale at TW.

 

A cheap gem of a spinning reel and my personal favorite is the Daiwa Revros.

I also own quite a few of them.

Quite a bit of value packed into The Revros.

 

Like you @TatulatardI too am looking for that affordable gem flipping stick.

I think I'm going to have to give the heavy Aird X rod a go since @MN Fisher has had such success with it for so many applications.

 

I love a good deal lol

 

[Tatulatard]

I forgot my "popper" rod is a 6'6" medium berkley lightning rod.  I got it when I broke the tip off my mojo topwater XF rod in a freak car door incident.  The lightning rod has a similar soft XF tip and short handle.  It works a popper almost in place like the mojo.  It does not cast as well as the mojo.  The super soft and fast tip doesn't really blend into the blank as well as the mojo so it kind of lob casts on open water with bigger topwaters.  It has the tip, backbone and handle length of the XF M topwater mojo but all the peices don't come together as well as that rod so its not as well rounded.  It was a lot cheaper and it is hard to make a smooth casting XF rod.  For poppers casted towards the bank up to 5/8 oz it works great.  

[Tatulatard]

5 hours ago, Kyle S said:

All of my affordable gems seems like they've already been mentioned and praised. 

Huge HUGE fan of the Hank Parker rods at walmart.

I own 4 or 5 of them. Both in MH and M.

I also have a handful of Aird X rods, and just recently purchased two more ML Aird X spinning rods.

Though I have others, I own I think 11 Shimano SLX casting reels. 

The SLX is without a doubt my favorite casting reel I own.

Hence why I own 11 of them haha

The SLX MSRP is $99 but I wait until they're on sale and pick them up for around $80 during the Black Friday sale at TW.

 

A cheap gem of a spinning reel and my personal favorite is the Daiwa Revros.

I also own quite a few of them.

Quite a bit of value packed into The Revros.

 

Like you @TatulatardI too am looking for that affordable gem flipping stick.

I think I'm going to have to give the heavy Aird X rod a go since @MN Fisher has had such success with it for so many applications.

 

I love a good deal lol

 

I've heard it said more than once that the aird x rods run a little soft and that the 7'3" is more of a MH+.rod.  A great addition to your line up for sure but I don't think it'll be a flipping stick.  Definitely let me know if you get one.  

 

What about the vengeance 7'6" heavy?  I handled one a year or two ago at a walmart.  It seemed like a reasonable flipping stick.  I recall the tip was more mod-fast and a tad softer than the hank parker MH.  I didn't pick it up because I had no idea of these were any good or sensitive rods. 

[Kyle S]

I've heard of people liking that vengeance series of rods but have never personally used them. I fondled a medium heavy vengeance in store a while back and immediately noticed the heaviness (weight) of the rod.

If I come across the heavy model i'll have to check it out.

[jitterbug127]

Those hank Parker rods are great for the  $! The ark lancer pro rods can be had for like $55 bucks to your door. I can’t see a better deal than that 

[DitchPanda]

The newest version of Berkley lightning rods are dang nice for $40-$50. For bait cast reels I like the Abu Garcia black max alot...think its called max x now or somethinvg. My buddy got me 3 of them at the Berkley outlet this summer reconditioned for like $14 a piece. They function better than any other $50 baitcaster I've used so 3 for $52 is a steal. For spinning reels the Daiwa revros is a fantastic reel...honestly feels like lot of $100 reels I've touched.

[Jmontgomery87]

Another big fan of the 7' MH/F Hank Parker casting rod. Mine is paired up with a solid Lew's LFS.

 

For budget spinning I've had a Daiwa Legalis 3000 for a couple of years that's still really smooth. I picked it up on sale for $48 and put it on a 6'6" M Berkeley lightning rod.

 

I just picked up a Shimano SLX on sale this week for $39. I really like my LFS but I think the SLX the best reel under $100 by far. It's the smoothest reel I own and can cast a 1/4oz T-rig at least 40 yards. It really feels like a much more expensive reel. I have it on a Hank Parker MH/F but I'm getting a 7'3" Aird-X for it soon. I like it so well that I think my next reel will be a SLX XT.

 

I've been the least impressed with a Daiwa Tatula CT that I purchased used. It casts well and the brakes offer great control but it has the clunkiest retrieve out of any of my reels. I probably need to give a new one a try.

 

There are a lot of great budget options out there, you just have to sift through the junk.

[Aaron_H]

Some really great budget gear already posted in here. For rods, I've been very impressed with the 13 Fishing Defy Black, I have the first-gen model 7'1" MH/F and it's a fantastic chatterbait rod. Rated as a fast but I call it a moderate-fast+, it's a very versatile rod and the lineup runs the full gamut of techniques, hard to find in a $59 rod.

 

The SLX is my bread and butter budget reel, but don't sleep on the Caius B, either. If you're throwing moving baits or don't need the aluminum frame, it's a great reel for the price. Same VBS brakes as the SLX, and with 15lb mono it will sling a bait out there. Picked it up for my little brother as his old SilverMax was getting pretty crusty, and I've been very impressed with it.

[BrianMDTX]

I’m in 100% agreement with the Daiwa Revros kudos. I have two- a LT2000 and a LT2500. They are great spinning reels for the $$. 
 

Rods? It’s hard to beat an Aird-X for that price. 

[Kyle S]

I know the rods both retail for $79.99, but how do you guys feel about the Daiwa Procyron and Daiwa Fuego line of rods? Anyone have any experience with them?

 

I own a 6'-6" MH Procyron and like it quite a bit. Especially the reel seat.

Its fantastic for throwing spinnerbaits accurately next to cover when they're up shallow or around submerged objects.

 

The reason I ask about these lines of rods is because they both offer far and away more models in each of their lineups.

 

 

[Catt]

Allstar Classic $49.99

H2O Express Mettie $49.99

Field & Stream Tech Spec Black $55.99

Lew's Laser SG1$59.99

 

Lew's Speed Spool LFS $99.99